The Truth About Mercury Contamination and Eating Fish

It’s indeed a CATCH 22… The Benefits of Fish versus The Fear of Mercury Contamination!

It’s been reported that contamination of fish with mercury has stopped a lot of consumers from eating fish and therefore denied themselves of the benefits of fish.

Because of the many benefits of fish, the National Institute of Health, National Academy of Sciences, The US Dietary Guidelines recommend eating fish at least 2 x a week.

However, The Food and Drug Administration recommends to avoid shark, white tuna, swordfish and king mackerel because they contain high levels of mercury and therefore harmful to children and pregnant women.

The general consensus however is that…

The general public should not avoid FISH out of the concern for mercury. Because even eating high mercury laden fish… IF NOT EATEN FREQUENTLY… will cause no harm!

Likewise,according to Harvard School of Heath…” Neither the Mercury Concern nor the Polychlorinated Biphenyls (known to cause neurological disorders) conatamination in fish are enough for people to reduce their fish intake!”

Being a non-meat eater, fish is my big source of protein. I love eating fish and other sea-foods. I do hope that what we have here in the Philippines do not contain a high level of mercury. Unfortunately, with the news of an oil spill in Guimaras, the threat of our marine products being contaminated is very imminent.

Mercury occurs naturally in the environment and likewise goes to the air from pollution. The mercury in the air then falls to the streams and lakes and converted into methylmercury which are then ingested by the fish and builds up in them as they feed in these waters. That’s why if the fish lives longer and becomes larger…the more mercury it contains. This is how fish get contaminated by mercury.